Gleaso's Playground

Specialized Epic Pro

Friday, March 23, 2018

Saturday March 31st I will start a journey to reconnect with something that has left me questioning everything in my biking life. Last years Tour Divide attempt did not go as planned, even though I had prepared for years to take a go at attempting the feat. Next Saturday I will rejoin the Divide route in Cuba, New Mexico for some early Spring training but also to reconnect and reflect on what is to come this June. I will get to see parts of the course that I failed to get to last year adding to my confidence on this years attempt. But I will also spend the week on the trail reconnecting to something that has been missing from me for months now. My passion for dirt. My love for a good adventure. Tackling the unknown. Clipping my feet into the pedals of my beautiful new bike and testing myself. A simple journey!

Silly poem I wrote. Turns out to be a heart when you center it. Pretty cool I thought.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

As a full time CIO, I love data. And TrainingPeaks delivers. I can plan and crunch numbers to my heart’s content. It allows me to self-coach. As a full time CIO of the world’s largest biofuel's company,... I understand hard work. I also believe in working hard but you must also play hard!

My bikes allow me to play all year long.

As I dream and plan my 2018 adventures, I will continue to.... Make mistakes and learn from them, Explore while riding my bike, Work hard in the gym and on my bike, I will not bury my failures, I will use them to inspire me!Remember... There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with HARD WORK, There are no limits.~Greg

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

This last weekend I planned a little winter biking adventure
so I thought I would share what I took with me to stay safe and cozy warm.

The Situation

Needed to attend a wedding with my wife in Moorhead, MN.My wife needed to take the car to Minneapolis
for work and I did not want to drive two cars to Fargo/Moorhead.So, I planned a small winter adventure to get
myself home.

The Plan

Ride 260 miles south from Fargo/Moorhead to Sioux Falls,
SD in winter conditions.

The start

Home sweet home!

The Forecast

Always important to understand the weather forecast when
planning for winter ride.Most importantly
remember weather professionals never get it right so your plan needs to
adaptable to all winter weather conditions.

oOvernight
the forecast changed.4-6 additional
inches of snow fell over the night from Sioux Falls north to where I was to
begin my ride.

oSnow
was to continue throughout the day.

oNo
sun again!

The forecast changed drastically from what I was
originally planning to deal with so I had to be mentally ready to adapt as I
moved south into the wintery adventure.

The Gear

This is what works for me after years of testing so please
experiment to get your gear figured out.I use this gear if it is between 10 – 30 degrees outside.I use my jacket zipper to regulate core temperatures
to prevent sweating.Moisture during winter
riding can act as a thermal transfer to your body and have a negative effect so
it is important to control.

·Core - Pearle Izumi
Thermal Long Sleeve Base layer, jersey, thick wool jersey with an Eddie Bauer
First Ascent permaloft jacket.Jacket is
quick to dry and very breathable so great for moisture control.

·Legs - A combo bibs
with Pearl Izumi Elite Thermal Bike Tights over.

Gear packed in bags

I packed this gear just in
case the South Dakota winter weather took a nasty turn for the worse or if I
had a significant breakdown, I would layer up to stay safe.

Temperature ranging from a minimum temperature of 17 to a
high temperature of 29.

Day 1

Ride went as planned the tail
crosswind was cold on my right side but a nice push on my fully loaded Salsa
Cutthroat.I stopped a couple times to
refuel.Each time I stopped, I was in
and out very fast due to the zero degree wind chills.Once back on the bike I was cold for several
minutes but warmed up very quickly. Total
miles 125.6 with 7 hours ride time, average temperature 23 with zero
degree wind chill.

Day 2

Day 2 was a day of adaptation.The forecast had completely changed for the
worse.No sun, the wind was out of the
south and several inches of snow had fallen making riding challenging at
times.I had to deal with falling snow
which when hits your body you start to chill easily. Ice is dangerous to ride
on so my route was adjusted many times to avoid where possible. Slush was
freezing my drive train to shifting was not working and any peddle pressure the
chain was slipping over my gears.

I limped my way for a couple
of hours before hitting a town where I eat and filled my water bottles with hot
water to keep my drive train unfrozen.

As I was limping along, I
hear a scream for HELP in the distance.As I approached, there was a woman that attempted to turn her vehicle
around and got her car stuck in the ditch.She asked if I could help.All I
was thinking was oh boy let the chill begin!Not safe for me at all.I sucked
it up and saved that random woman in the ditch. Yes, a bikepacker stopped in
freezing temperatures and saves a damsel in distress...boom!

Day 2 winter conditions

Total miles 133.3 miles 9:46 hours ride time, average
temperature 25 with mid teen wind chills.Winter is a great time to ride and enjoy the
outdoors.You just need to adaptable and
figure out what works for you to stay warm while controlling your body moisture.Looking forward to seeing your wintery posts
on social media! #noindoortrainers
#winterdoesntsuck #bikepackerforever

Friday, October 13, 2017

Surprising things are happening on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The Superior National Forest near Two Harbors, Minn., is well known for its October peak fall foliage, but maybe not as well known for its gravel cycling events. The Heck of the North is a 107-mile gravel cycling classic that brings 250+ adventurous cyclists and the fall colors together.

Greg Gleason's 2017 Tour Divide didn't necessarily end the way he wanted it to. Racers have over 2,745 miles to experience challenges they could never have planned for, and in Greg's case, it took 1,250.

Friday, June 9, 2017

With June 9th looming just around the corner, all of Gleason's training will soon be thoroughly tested. Aspects of the TDR just can't be replicated though. Will what he's been imagining, and talking and reading about match up with reality once he starts turning pedals?